White-necked Heron

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Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the White-necked Heron

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is October, the month with the most records.

Where to see the White-necked Heron

The map shades 1 country with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in New Zealand.

About the White-necked Heron

The white-necked heron or Pacific heron is a species of heron that is found on most of the Australian continent wherever freshwater habitats exist. It is also found in parts of Indonesia and New Guinea, but is uncommon in Tasmania. The populations of this species in Australia are known to be nomadic like most water birds in Australia, moving from one water source to another, often entering habitats they have not previously occupied, taking advantage of flooding and heavy rain where the surplus of food allows them to breed and raise their young. Irruptive movements may occur when environmental conditions are right in places where the species has been rare or absent.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Goliath HeronArdea goliathIt is the world's largest living heron (though the extinct Bennu heron was larger). Cocoi HeronArdea cocoiThe cocoi heron is the largest of the South American heron species and measures 95–130 cm (37.5–51 in) in length, although body sizes vary regionally; with southern individuals probably being the largest. Black-headed HeronArdea melanocephalaThe black-headed heron is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.

Side by side: Purple Heron vs White-necked Heron · Cocoi Heron vs White-necked Heron · Goliath Heron vs White-necked Heron